Ms Naomi Feely:

A major issue in respect of the fuel allowance is that the scheme has not been very responsive to the increase in fuel prices. We are often contacted by telephone by older people living alone who may have lost a spouse in the recent past but still face paying the same energy costs. The scheme needs to be responsive to such cases and this will certainly be one our priority areas when we make our budget submission.

The fuel allowance is highly effective as an income support, although it does not address rising costs. What we would like to see is a broader strategy and increased support for making homes more energy efficient. In preparing for this meeting I read some work done on energy poverty by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. It examined the different costs depending on the building energy rating, BER, of houses. It found that in the case of an energy efficient house, a household might spend €35 per week and these costs would be met by the current rate of the fuel allowance. However, those in energy inefficient homes, for example, a house with a rating of BER E1, would pay approximately €83 per week to heat their house. The allowance is not responsive to these differences.

Another issue we encounter with the fuel allowance is that it would be preferable if it were paid in one or two lump sums. Making this change would be straightforward. Older people tend to live in houses that require them to fill a tank of oil which costs a couple of hundred euro. It is very hard to save up a little each week or pay out €100 or €200 for an oil delivery. In many submissions to the Department we have encouraged the payment of the allowance in one or two lump sums. Not everybody will be able to use the payment to buy coal or briquettes every week, which is fine, but we would like the scheme to be administered in that way.

Mr. Moran will elaborate on Age Action's priorities in a moment. With regard to social protection, we would like the 2012 changes to be reversed and moves to be made towards setting a rate for the State pension of 35% of average earnings. We will ask again, therefore, for the pension to be increased. One of the critical issues is the need to review the living alone allowance. The Vincentian Partnership has done good research on adequacy which found that pensioners who live alone have inadequate incomes. We will ask again for an increase in the living alone allowance to take account of energy costs which may previously have been covered by two pensions or by one pensioner and another qualifying adult.

Food costs do not automatically halve for a person living alone and the figures indicate that while two-pensioner households may spend €80 per week on food, this only falls to €64 for a pensioner living alone. These are the key things on the income side that we will be looking at. Mr. Moran will speak about the health priorities.